For my first review that I've ever done on this blog, I thought I'd take a step back and review one of my favorite films ever. If there's any movie that I am qualified to review, its Donnie Darko, the fantastic, dark, offbeat mind-trip from director Richard Kelly. I'd estimate that I've seen Darko atleast twenty times. I really am that engrossed in this movie, which is also one of the weirdest that I've ever seen (and that's saying something).
Right off the bat, I have to say this: this movie is not meant to be fully understood. That's my take atleast. If you rack your brain trying to come up with the meaning of this twisty, time-warping plot, you're missing half of the fun: taking the ride that is Donnie Darko. Richard Kelly creates a world that is both hilarious and haunting at the same time. He creates such a believable world around believable characters that when un-believable things happen to them, it tends to really warp things.
Jake Gyllenhaal has never been able to match this performance. It really is nearly perfect and severely underrated. He is so convincing as this scarred and fragile yet worldly and wise beyond his years title character. He has so many classic lines and exchanges with his friends (the Smurf conversation is classic) and delivers his lines with spot-on precision. It's a treat to watch him do what he does in this film.
But what really makes this movie a classic for me, is just the insane amount of imagination involved. The plot is just packed with memorable moments. And in these days of remakes, book adaptations, and sequels, it's just a breath of fresh air that Kelly was able to create such a fantastic world from scratch. Give Kelly all the credit. He truly created a monster (in a good way).
